MSI unveils new mid-range mini PC with up to 10-core Intel CPU and a surfeit of ports

Just a few days ago, MSI released the AMD-powered Cubi Z AI 8M mini PC. Now, the company has launched yet another mini PC with the Cubi branding, dubbed the Cubi 5 1M. Powered by Intel Core 100U processors, the brand-new mini PC should offer decent performance for budget-conscious customers with moderate requirements.

To be specific, the Cubi 5 1M mini PC will be equipped with the Intel Core 3 100U, Core 5 120U, and Core 7 150U processors. The high-end Core 7 150U and Core 5 120U chips pack a total of 10 cores and 12 threads each, whereas the Core 3 100U settles for 6 cores and 8 threads only. As indicated by benchmarks, the Core 7 150U should be as powerful as a Ryzen 5 7530U. The lowest-end variant, on the other hand, should be in the same range as a Ryzen 5 5560U and roughly 30% behind the Core 7 150U.

Modest specs for modest workloads

In simpler terms, the Raptor Lake-U chips should be plenty performant for lightweight office tasks and multimedia consumption, but folks with heavier computational demands would likely be better off with higher-end systems, such as the Minisforum UM880 Plus (curr. $518 on Amazon). The Cubi 5 mini PC can be equipped with up to 64 GB of DDR5-5200 memory, and storage requirements are taken care of by an M.2 2280 slot, as well as a 2.5-inch drive bay. The I/O on offer is as follows:

• 4x USB Type-A (10 Gbps)
• Thunderbolt 4 Type-C
• HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4
• Dual Ethernet (2.5G, 1G)
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, or WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0

At just 0.83-liters, the MSI Cubi 5 1M mini PC is plenty compact as well. Pricing is under wraps as of this writing, although more details should be available soon.